Independent vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. warned yesterday that rampant brownouts in Mindanao might enable unscrupulous politicians to manipulate the May 9, 2016 national and local elections to frustrate the will of the voters.

The warning came during his political campaign dubbed ‘’Unity Caravan’’ reached Mindanao where rampant brownouts occur in various areas, particularly in South and North Cotabato.

Marcos then urged every Filipino citizen to be vigilant to prevent any form of cheating in the coming elections.

“Of course we are closely monitoring the developments in the electoral process, particularly on the possibility such a scenario could occur,” he said.

“I think the best thing every one of us can do is to be vigilant to protect the integrity of the elections,” he added.

Marcos had earlier expressed alarm over the series of bombings of transmission towers in Mindanao as it had led to brownouts in many areas.

“We must all insist that the Comelec should implement all the safeguards to the automated election as mandated by the law so that when all the votes are tallied, our citizens are confident that the results accurately reflect the will of the people,” he added.